Setting up for the future
by GSR4ever87
Summary: Members of the Caine family are about to hit some significant milestones, in their relationships and just life in general, to set up for a promising future. Find out what milestones are they going to get to. Third in the One moment changed everything Series.
1. Two Years Later

Disclaimer: I don't own the main characters

Summary: Members of the Caine family are about to hit some significant milestones, in their relationships and just life in general, to set up for a promising future. Find out what milestones are they going to get to. Third, and possibly, final story in the One moment changed everything Series.

AN: Since this is the third story in the series, you will have to read the first two to understand this one, just so you are warned.

Title: Setting up for the future  
Genre: Romance, Drama, Hurt/Comfort  
Rating: T  
Spoilers: None  
Time-line: 2 years after the last story ended  
Warnings: Implied/Suggestive adult behavior, and a few questionable words  
Main Parings: Ducaine  
Minor Parings: Nicole/Bryan, Lindsey/Kyle, Nick/OC  
Other Characters: Anthony & Jenny Caine  
Series Order: One Moment changed everything, Losing Everything?, Setting up from the future

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Chapter 1: Two Years Later

Late August 2013

Through the years Horatio has been woken up by a lot of things...nightmares, babies crying, kids wanting breakfast, phone ringing, sometimes even Calleigh's sweet kisses on the cheek or lips, but what woke him up this morning, he was not expecting, his wife getting sick from the bathroom. Now being pregnant twice, this wasn't the first time, he had been woken up by that noise, but as far as he knew, this wasn't the case.

Once Horatio got out of bed, he walked to the bathroom and stood in the doorway, seeing his wife sitting next to the toilet, and she looked up at him with shy look. "Sorry, handsome, I didn't mean to wake you."

He waved it off and walked to the sink to fill up a glass, then he walked over to her and kneeled down while handing it to her before smirking a little. "I know you were worried about Anthony starting school today, but I didn't know you would be sick about it."

She gave him a mock glare as she took the glass from him. "Ha, Ha, very funny." She rinsed her mouth out and spit in the toilet before shaking her head and looking down at the glass she still had in her hand. "I don't think it's that."

Horatio's heart start to race as he asked with a smile slowly coming to his face. "Sweetheart, could you really be..."

He trailed off and she looked up at him with a small smile on her face while replying. "I think so." Before he could speak, she spoke after a sigh. "I'm sorry, we never really talked about having another ba..."

Horatio cuts her off while cupping her cheek. "I don't care, this is still a blessing, one I'm proud of, if it's really true."

Calleigh a smile back on her face as she asked. "Yeah?"

He nodded with his blue eyes sparkling. "Yeah, let's do this one more time."

She chuckled with a nod. "Ok, I'm all in." He was bringing her closer, but she pulled back with her hand up to her mouth and replied. "Maybe I should brush first."

He chuckled as he stood up. "That's probably a good idea."

After he helps her up, she heads to the sink while he spoke. "So, do you want to go to the clinic, or just get a pregnancy test first?"

She spit out the toothpaste before speaking. "How about the clinic?"

He nodded, then once she finished, she turned to him with his green eyes sparkling while whispering. "Now where were we?"

He smiled as he cupped cheek and replied while bringing her closer. "I believe right about here."

Their lips were about to touch, when they hear Anthony's voice from the hallway. "Mommy, daddy, school time."

They chuckled as they place their foreheads together, then she smirked. "You ready for another round of interruptions?"

There was no pause when he replied with love in his voice, which only made her love him even more. "Bring it on."

She pulls back with a nod and smile. "Yeah, bring it all on."

He smiled with a nod and took her hand before walking them towards their bedroom door, and after opening it, their hearts melted at the sight of their youngest son. Not only was he looking so much like Horatio, outside of the blond hair, but he was wearing a suit and tie, which his tie was a clip on, his backpack and a hat that was slightly big on him since it was one of Kyle's that he had adopted.

Calleigh places her hand up to her mouth with tears in her eyes, filled with emotion at seeing her little boy growing up, as she whispered. "What are you wearing, honey?"

He smiled brightly. "Daddy told me I had to wear something nice for my first day of school."

They chuckled softly as Horatio bent down so he was eye level with his youngest son before replying in a soft tone. "I did say that, didn't I?" The youngest son nodded before Horatio continued after clearing his throat. "Well, little man, I should have been more clearer."

Anthony started to have tears in his eyes as he asked. "I did it wrong?"

Horatio shook his head and cupped his cheek before continuing in a tone. "No, but you want to go outside and play, right?"

His eyes get wide in shock. "I get to do that?"

Horatio nodded with a smile. "Yes, when the teacher says it's ok."

"Then yes, I want to play outside."

"And you know you're not suppose to play in your suit, right?"

After he nodded, he looked at his mom and held out his hand. "Mommy help me, please. Daddy told me wrong."

They chuckled again as Horatio stood up and moved to the side as Calleigh took a step towards her son and took his little hand while she smirked. "Daddy was a bad boy, wasn't he?"

Anthony nodded with a pout. "Yeah, he should be put in time-out."

Another round of chuckling was heard as Calleigh walked her son to his room, discussing what 'punishment' Horatio as going to get.

Horatio started smile wider when he heard Jenny's voice from her room. "Momma, dada, out, out pease."

So he took a contented sigh as he walked out of the room, if there was another little one on the horizon, he or she will be loved as much as the other kids.

* * *

35 minutes later

Once Anthony was in his proper school clothes, they went downstairs to join Horatio, Jenny, Kyle and Lindsey in the kitchen, then after Calleigh had made breakfast, and her and Horatio had eaten, they left the younger kids with Kyle and Lindsey so they could go back upstairs to change for the day.

As breakfast time started to wind down and it was getting closer for Anthony to go to school, he started to get sad, and by the time Nicole and Bryan showed up at the house and walked into the kitchen, they heard him crying, so with concern she asked. "What's going on?"

Kyle looked up at his sister and shook his head with a sad look, who had been trying to comfort him since he heard the first whimper. "I don't know, he won't tell me."

Nicole sighed, her heart breaking for her little brother, and walked up to his chair at the table and kneeled down before asking in a comforting tone while placing her hand on his back and running it up and down it. "Hey, little man, what's wrong?"

It was a few seconds before Anthony sniffled and whispered. "He promised."

"Who promised what, sweetie?"

He sniffled again as he looked at his sister and continued. "Brother Nick, said he would be here to have breakfast wif me, then he was going to see me go to school just like all of you promised."

Before Nicole could say anything, Bryan already had his phone out of his pocket. "On it, babe."

Nicole smiled a little before she went back to comforting her youngest brother. "Well, he may have missed breakfast with you, and I'm really sorry about that, but I'm sure he'll see you go to school."

Anthony thought about it for a few seconds before he spoke. "I guess that's something, but he should still be on time-out too."

They all snickered at that before Nicole asked. "Too, huh? Who else is getting put on time-out?"

He smiled a little. "Daddy!"

They chuckled, then as they were calming down, Bryan sighed as he removed his phone from his ear. "It went right to voice mail, and I tried twice." Nicole sighed in reply before Bryan spoke softly. "Should I..."

She cuts him off while shaking her head. "No, I'll do it." She then turned her attention back to her brother. "I'll get him there, I promise."

He nodded with a smile, still thinking his sister as his superhero. "Ok, thank you, love you."

Nicole smiled a little, moved up a little so she could kiss his temple and replied. "You're welcome, and I love you too. Now, please eat the rest of your breakfast."

Anthony nodded with one more sniffle, and as he was picking his fork back up, Nicole turned to her boyfriend, which he already had the keys to his vehicle handed out to her, so she took them from him with a loving smile before they share a peck on the lips, and after sharing a look with Kyle, she headed out of the kitchen and out the house, very upset with her brother.

She knew things had been different with him the last two years, and got that certain circumstances didn't help with how much he was changing, but the one thing she thought that wouldn't change about him was his love for the family, particularly towards Anthony. He had never broken a promise to him before, and while she couldn't help with the 1st half of that promise, she was sure as hell was going to make sure he keeps the other half, because as long as she could help it, she wasn't going to witness that look on her youngest brother's face again.

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AN: Interested in more? Thanks for reading and please review.


	2. Forgiveness?

AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter. Warning: A few questionable words

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Chapter 2: Forgiveness?

When she got to Nick's apartment complex, which he could afford to live in because one of his cop classmates has an uncle who owns the building and he had a good deal. She walks to and in the building before using the stairs since the elevator was out of service at the moment, and headed for the third floor.

Once she got to the end of the hall, she knocked before folding her arms over her chest while she heard speaking in the apartment before the door opened, now revealing a blond haired, hazel eyed, 5'7 slim build woman, which seeing a woman in his apartment is nothing new, so she wasn't that surprised. But what was surprising to her was that for the last five months it seemed like every time she saw him it was with a different woman, outside of two instances where she would actually see the same woman more than once.

After his 'potential' relationship ended amicably two months later, he went out a couple of more times, his confidence was growing a little more each time, then a month after that, he met the woman that not only became his longest relationship, but the one that would...

Nicole's thoughts get interrupted when she heard her brother's voice. "Who's at the door?"

Before the woman could speak, Nicole did, loudly. "Your sister!"

When Nick came in view, he was shirtless, showing him to be a little more muscular and fit with the training he was doing for on his way of being a cop, with sweatpants on.

He gave his sister a little smile while commenting. "And whoa, she looks mad as hell."

She clinched her jaw while replying. "I wonder why, there was a certain promise you made to our younger brother."

His smile instantly left his face before he cursed and looked at her with wide-eyes. "That was this morning?" Not needing confirmation from Nicole, he tuned his attention to the blond haired woman and spoke in a apologetic tone. "Tiffany, I'm..."

She cuts him off with a smile. "It's ok, I should leave anyways."

She moved to go further inside the apartment so she could get her coat and purse while Nick looked at Nicole with sadness. "I'm sorry, it was an honest mistake."

Before she could speak, Tiffany walked towards the door again, and after a kiss on Nick's cheek, she smiled. "Thank you for last night."

He smiled with a nod. "Yeah, no problem."

Tiffany then looked at Nicole and gave her nod before walking out of the apartment and down the hall.

Nick looked at his sister again a second later, running his fingers through his hair. "Can I get a ride with you, and give me five minutes, please?" Nicole just nodded before Nick turned away from the door and rushed to his room, feeling very horrible about him missing his promise to his brother.

When he made it back into the main rooms in jeans and a t-shirt, Nicole was still waiting by the door, but inside and still having her arms crossed with a not so pleased look on her face, and he sighed as he replied. "Please, stop looking at me like that. I told you it was an honest mistake."

There was a pause before she spoke as she turned towards the door. "Well, I will give you some credit, least you remember her name."

He stopped short as she walked out of the apartment and looked at her wide-eyed. "Damn, and she has the claws out this morning."

She continued to speak as he was walking out his apartment. "I just don't get you anymore, you're becoming unrecognizable to me."

After he locked the door, they stared walking down the hall as he replied. "I'm growing up. I'm just trying to enjoy life as much as possible."

"Yeah maybe, but going out with different women each night, isn't you."

He looked at her a little sadly as they started walking down the stairs. "And which of me do you want me to go back to, huh? The shy one who couldn't seem to get a date until his junior prom, which we know how that turned out, or how about the one that had managed to fall for his sister's best-friend so hard that that's all he could think about for over a year, oh, and before I forget to mention, that said best friend is our brother's girlfriend, practically fiancée."

Nicole gets a sad look on her face and was about to speak, but he chuckled humorlessly as he finished while they walked out of the building. "Or how about the brother who had somehow got over his feelings for the said best friend/brother's girlfriend, and finally found a woman he thought he could spend his life with, until a year later I saw her in my bed, cheating on me with a man that I thought was a good friend of mine, making me feel so depressed for two months, I was even worried about myself, so please, which one would you like to see again? Because honestly, none of those options sound very appealing to me."

Feeling her heart break for her brother, she was about to speak again, but he continued after a sigh. "Look, I don't know why I feel like I have to defend my actions here, but for the record, since the horrible ending of my relationship with Rachel seven months ago, there has only been three women that went further than just a movie, drinks or lunch/dinner, and before you ask, no Tiffany isn't on that list, she's having family problems and we just talked through the night."

To say that Nicole was a little shocked, considering how much she thought he had changed, was an understatement, and she looked him as they stopped at the doors of the vehicle. "Really?"

He looked at her with a smile. "Did you really think I would change that much, that I would have this huge list of one night stands?"

She sighed and shook her head, both getting into the vehicle before she started speaking. "Honestly, I didn't know. I mean I get it, we are still young and it is normal to be going out and having a good time every once in awhile. I know a lot of relationships aren't like mine with Bryan."

She was going to continue speaking as she started to drive when Nick made a smirking noise. "No one has a relationship like yours with Bryan, well, maybe except Kyle and Lindsey, you guys are just crazy to be dating so long."

While he did say that jokingly, he actually admired both couples for sticking it together this long.

She just chuckled a little before calming down and continuing softly. "I'm sorry if you felt like I was judging you, I know you haven't had it easy, especially in the early parts, in the dating world, so I guess I can kind of see this as you playing catch up."

He waved it off with a sigh. "It's ok, I guess I can understand your perspective as well." Before he continued. "I'm just trying to find the right one to go through this crazy world with me." He then smirked at her again. "Not everybody is lucky enough to have found their soul-mate at five years old."

She chuckled and shook her head after stopping at a stop sign. "It wasn't exactly love at first sight, you know how many years he picked on me?"

"Aww come on sis, as smart as you are, I'm surprised you don't know grade school 101."

She started driving again as she started to speak. "And that is..."

He cuts her off with a one more smirk. "You always pick on the one you love."

She chuckled again with a nod. "I guess considering how things played out, I can't doubt your logic on that one." He nodded with a smile, and as he turned his head to look out the window, she took a breath and spoke softly. "Are your feelings for her really gone?"

Knowing which woman she was talking about, he replied softly. "If I said 'yes' would you believe me?"

"Probably not."

He nodded in understanding before continuing. "I think they'll always be there, but I'm not obsessed by them, or sitting around waiting/wishing for things to change when I know that will never happen. Just knowing that she's happy, that both him and her are, is good enough for me."

She smiled with a small nod. "There he is, the brother that I know. I just had to really make sure."

This time he chuckled as he looked over at her. "Does that mean you don't hate me anymore?"

She stopped at another stop sign and looked at her brother with sad look. "I never hated you, being upset with you, especially after breaking a promise when it could have been avoidable, yes. But I could never hate you."

Seeing the honesty, he just nodded as she turned down the road that would take them towards the grade school, before he asked after a sigh. "So, how upset is the little man?"

"Well, let's just say a time-out is in your future." He chuckled as she smiled. "But you'll be happy to know that you are not alone, I guess dad ended up on the time-out list too."

He chuckled again before asking. "What he do?"

She shrugged her shoulders with the smile still on her face. "I'm not sure."

* * *

When they made it to the school's parking lot, she parked the vehicle, and as they were getting out, they see the rest of the family heading towards the sidewalk to the building, so they rushed up to them while Nick said. "Anthony I made it!"

The family looked around after they heard Nick's voice, and when they saw him, they all gave him looks, and he shyly smiled with a nod. "I know, you don't have to say it." Then after they made sure they wouldn't be blocking any vehicles, Nick kneeled down so he was eye level with his brother, or he would have been had Anthony's head not been bent down, making Nick's heart break a little as he spoke softly. "I'm sorry little man, I didn't mean to break my promise to you, and I don't have a good excuse for it either, which even if I did, there are no excuses in the world that would justify me missing time with you, because you know no matter how my day goes, you're always the bright spot every time I get be with you or hear your voice."

Anthony started to smile a little as he lifted his head, tears in his eyes. "Really?"

Nick smiled in return, his brown eyes sparkling as he cupped his brother's cheek. "Really, so what can I do to make it up to you? Name it, anything is on the table."

Anthony gasped as he gets wide-eyed. "Anything?"

They all chuckle before Nick explained. "Well, anything that is particle, like spending time together during the week, or we can take a day trip somewhere, or..."

Anthony cuts him off. "Six brother hang-outs this week."

With his older siblings out of the house, outside of Kyle, both Nick and Nicole had promised Anthony that they'll always set up time for him, which they like to call it brother hang-outs, and while sometimes it can't be on the day Anthony suggests, they've always managed to get it fulfilled within that week or weekend it was requested.

Before Horatio and Calleigh could speak, knowing that was an impossible request, Nick replied before they could in a soothing tone. "Buddy, as much as I would love to do that, that's just not possible." There was a pause before Nick asked. "How about 2 brother hang-outs this week, and a sleepover on Saturday?"

Anthony seemed to really think this through before he asked. "3, and a sleepover on Saturday?"

Nick nodded with a smile. "You got it."

Feeling happy now, Anthony wraps his arms around Nick's neck as he wrapped his arms around his little brother and whispered. "I am sorry, and don't ever forget how much I love you, ok?"

He nodded while sniffling. "I won't, I love you too."

After a moment had passed, they finally pulled back, and once Nick helped him wipe his tears away, he stood up with a smile. "Now, I have a promise to fulfill, let's do it."

Anthony smiled brightly with a head nod before he turned around and started walking with his family right behind him.

Once they reached the sidewalk and looked at the building in front of them, Calleigh kneeled down next to her son and asked. "You want any of us to go in with you?"

Anthony took a moment to look at the tall building and all the other students heading towards the front door, and he knew he should have felt intimidated, but he wasn't, he was ready for this. He felt like he's been ready for this since his parents told him that this was the year he'll be going to school, so he shook his head and looked at his mom before smiling with a determination look that reminded Calleigh of Horatio, and replied. "It's ok mommy, I got this."

They all chuckled as Calleigh smiled, a few tears in her eyes. "Ok, sweetie, one of us will pick up after school, ok?"

He nodded, then did another Horatio move, cupped his mother's cheek and wiped her tear away as he said in a comforting tone. "It's ok mommy, I'll be ok, you don't have to be sad."

Calleigh placed her hand on top of his as she whispered. "I'll try not to. I love you."

Making sure no one was close by, he whispered. "I love you too, mommy."

After they share a hug, he hugged everybody else before he looked at the school building and took a breath before he started walking forward.

A moment later, Kyle cleared his throat before asking. "Hey guys, this scene remind you of anything?"

Nicole, Nick, and Bryan all smiled with nod before Nicole spoke. "Yeah, the first day our group really got started was out here in front of this school."

Lindsey then sighed as she mentioned. "Too bad I wasn't here from the start."

Kyle looked up at his girlfriend as he took her hand and replied with love in his eyes. "You're here now, and that's all that matters."

They smiled at one another warmly before their attention went back to Anthony until they couldn't see him anymore.

* * *

Later that evening

After dinner, the older Caines, plus Lindsey and Bryan, took Anthony and Jenny out of the house for some dessert, so while the house was empty, Calleigh and Horatio decided to watch a movie, but most of their concentration was on her phone, waiting for that confirmation call to see if their lives were about to change with one more child.

When the phone did ring, Calleigh wasted no time answering it as she stood up from the couch and walked to the middle of the room while he hit the mute button, and after a round of 'yeses' a few 'ok's', then goodbye, she turned to her husband and looked at him with tears in her eyes, and he cautiously got up and started walking towards her as he asked softly. "Are those happy tears, or sad ones?"

She started to nod her head with a smile. "Happy tears, very much happy tears."

His eyes lit up with joy and emotion before he cupped her cheek. "Aww, sweetheart, I am so happy right now. Thank you."

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck as she whispered. "No, thank you. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

They kiss tenderly for a few minutes before they get into a hug, feeling blessed to have another opportunity to love a child that they created out of their love.

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AN: Hope you liked it. More to come if there is interest. Thanks for reading and please review.


	3. Two months later

AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter. Things just might be turning in a good way for Nick, let's find out.

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Chapter 3: Two months later

Mid-October, 2013

After Nick pulled in the practically bare parking lot, he stopped his vehicle in a parking spot, got out before walking towards a building, but it wasn't just any building, it was a nightclub called 'The Circle Six' representing the six partners that had some kind of stake in the business, which included him, even though his share was the smallest, as long as the establishment was kept clean, since he was becoming a cop after all.

Once he walked into the building, he smiled his approval of how the inside looked, since it was the first time he seen it since it was 100% completed two weeks ago. The huge bar area was designed in a circle and in the middle of the room with barstools around the counter, there were areas off to the side for privacy and or watching sports TV, including a main office. Most of the main area around was littered with tables and chairs, with a medium sized dance floor filling the top right area of the club, that also had a DJ area. Then there was a balcony set up upstairs with more tables, chairs, a few more TV's, and a smaller bar, getting up there by a lift or stairs.

Nick's attention was diverted when he heard the majority owner, and a friend of the group five, Mark Cunningham, speak with a smile. "So, how do you like it?"

Despite what people might think or how it seemed, while it was mostly the group five hanging out together, there were other friends during their high school years, maybe not as close, but they still considered them friends.

Nick smiled at the 6'0, bald headed, brown eyed, slim build, 22 year old. "It's nice. I just hope it does well."

Mark sighed with a head nod. "Me too, I put in every penny I had in this place." He then looked at Nick and held out his hand. "And I couldn't have finished it without you, you were the last piece we needed to get this up and running."

Nick shook the other man's hand with the smile still on his face. "I'm sure you guys could have eventually found someone else."

"Maybe, but I felt like I owed it to you to ask, you, and heck the rest of the group, saved my life. I could have easily gone down a different path."

Nick cleared his throat as they released hands before replying. "Well, I appreciate you asking, but you remember the deal."

"Of course, this place will remain 100% legit and clean, you have my word." Nick nodded with one more smile before Mark spoke again after clearing his throat. "So, speaking of the group, when are you getting them in here?"

"Actually that's why I came here early, I was hoping you can reserve the best table. It's Lindsey's 21st birthday."

He nodded with a smile. "That's right, the last one of the group to turn 21. So, I guess that means you guys will be coming here more often?"

Nick then smirked. "You better believe it, I have a stake in this establishment too, and if we are going to a club I don't want to be giving the competition my money."

He chuckled with a nod. "I would hope not, and only the best for you guys, all you have to do is ask."

"Alright, thanks man, I'll see you later."

After another handshake, Mark walked towards the bar to make sure everything was good and in order while Nick looked around one more time before he walked out of the building.

* * *

When he got back to the club about 3 hours later, he sighed in relief when he saw the parking lot almost full, and when he walked inside and saw it alive with activity, it was even more amazing than when he saw it earlier.

As he walked closer to the bar, he caught Mark's attention, and the other man smiled as he pointed up, so Nick stopped his feet and saw an empty table through the glass guardrail that was right in front and in the middle, making Nick smile and nod at the other man, which he nodded and smiled in return before Nick headed for the lift so he could go up.

Once he got there, and because he was the only one in the glass lift at the moment, he decided to wait a few seconds for five other people since the lift could fit about six.

He was on his phone texting his sister to make sure they were on their way when he heard two men, probably around their mid-20's, laugh before one of them said softly, but everybody could still hear him. "Whoa, doesn't she know there is a weight limit."

The lift started to move as Nick looked up from his phone with a frown at the man's words and looked towards the front right corner, and saw a woman, who looked to be around 23 or slightly older, 5'6, with red, braided hair, and a little curvy.

But curvy or not, it didn't matter what she looked like, they had no right to make her feel bad, so when the lift stopped and the people started getting out, which the woman with the red hair did first, Nick spoke up as he saw the guys walk out of the lift. "Hey, you two!" Both 5'10, dark haired, athletic build men turned around at Nick's voice, including the woman, and Nick continued as he got closer to them. "Anybody has a right to go out and have a good time without a bunch of insecure people who have to belittle other people just to make themselves feel good, so why don't you apologize to the woman, and get the hell out of here."

The one who made that comment, sneered. "Yeah? and what if I don't, what are you going to do about it?"

Nick stood there for a second, then he smiled without humor, grabbed the man by the back of the neck and forced him over towards the railing, which the man was actually afraid he was going to go over, so he was relieved when they stopped, before he heard Nick whisper while pointing to the muscular bouncer at the door. "You see him, one text and he's making you wish you had your mommy, so are you going to do as I ask, or do you really want to test out that theory?"

There was a slight pause before he shrugged off Nick's hand and stood up straight while shaking his head and looking at him. "It's not worth it." Before he turned around and headed where his friend and the woman was.

The other man started to apologize in a low voice, but Nick spoke again, cutting him off. "How about a little louder so we can actually hear it."

The other man sighed before he did do it louder, and after she just nodded, the two men headed for the stairs this time, which as they walked away, the other guests were clapping, then after a second the woman asked with a slight smile, her green eyes sparkling, making him smile in return. "How do you know they are really going to leave?"

He indicated with his hand to follow him as he turned around so they could walk back to the railing, and he spoke as he pointed to the bouncer again. "All I have to do is text that man, and he'll make sure they'll leave."

"And you can just do that?"

He held up a finger to indicate for her to wait a minute, and when he saw the men walk towards the bar instead of the door, he pulled out his phone, made a text before hitting send, then a few moments later they see the bouncer walking towards the bar with a mission, and once the mission was completed and the guys were no longer inside the building, he looked over at the woman with a smile, his brown eyes sparkling as he spoke, making her heart race unexpectedly. "See."

She chuckled, the sound going to his heart unexpectedly before she spoke with a raised eyebrow. "What, do you like own this place or something?"

"I guess you can say that. But if you want to get really technical, it is more like owning a few of the chairs and tables."

They both chuckled at that, then as they started to calm down, he spoke with tenderness. "I am sorry you had to hear that."

She waved it off with a sigh. "It's nothing I haven't heard before, eventually you just have to try and ignore it, or you'll only drive yourself crazy."

"Yeah, but it isn't right, like I told them, everybody has a right to got out, especially to enjoy a night out, without someone making insensitive comments."

"Unfortunately it isn't the world we live in." As Nick was about to speak, she became bold when she finished. "But as long as there's guys like you, I mean people like you, the world isn't such a bad place to live in."

She shyly looked down as she finished, and that only made Nick's heart race a little more as he whispered. "Thank you for the compliment." She looked up at him with a nod, and after a long look, he cleared his throat before speaking. "How about I get you a drink, you know as an apology for what happened."

Coming back into the real world, the woman shook her head with a smile. "No, it's ok, you don't have to do that, I..."

He cuts her off. "But I want to, please?"

Getting lost in his eyes again, she nodded. "Ok."

He nodded with a smile, and as they started to walk towards the bar that was on this level, he cleared his throat again and asked. "So, what brings you here tonight?"

"Here as in this club or here as in Miami?"

Hearing that she didn't live in Miami made him feel a little sad, but he tried to shake it off as he asked. "You aren't from Miami?"

"No, I'm from Boston. But I am moving here, or at least that's the plan."

He smiled. "Really?"

She smiled in return. "Yeah, I have a job interview tomorrow, and if it goes alright, I'll be sticking around."

He felt really happy about that as he asked his next question. "OK, now how about as in the club?"

She answered his question after they ordered drinks. "My oldest sister's engagement party. her, another sister of mine, and a few of their friends decided to come to Miami with me for moral support and to celebrate the engagement. They saw on the internet that this place was new, so they thought they would check it out."

As their drinks were placed in front of them, Nick nodded as he pulled his phone out. "One minute please." The woman nodded as Nick hit a speed dial on his phone and placed it to his ear before speaking a second later. "Hey Mark, this is Nick, is there a private area still available? Excellent, can you make sure it is reserved for the party of..."

He paused for a second before looking at the woman, and she looked surprised as she said the last name. "Taylor."

He nodded before getting back to the phone conversation. "Taylor, there is an engagement party happening, thank you, yeah, bye."

As he hung up, she smirked as she brought her drink up to her lips. "Are you trying to impress me?"

He smirked in return with his eyes sparkling. "Why? Is it working?"

Before she could speak, Nick hears Nicole's voice. "There you are."

The woman watched Nick smile brightly at the woman that just joined them, and as they shared a hug, she tried to shake her feelings for the nice man that she just met, knowing she didn't stand a chance now, if she ever did that is.

As the siblings pulled back from one another, Nick smiled as he spoke. "Nicole, I would like you to meet..."

He trailed off, not knowing her first name, and the woman gave Nicole a small smile as she replied. "Julie."

Nicole smiled in return. "Nice to meet you Julie."

After Julie nodded, Nicole turned her attention to her brother before clearing her throat and speaking. "Can I talk to you for minute?"

"Sure."

They took a few steps away from the bar counter, and Nicole continued in a low voice. "I don't want to be rude to your new friend, but uh Lindsey and I, you see, well..."

Nick cuts her off, knowing exactly what she was trying to say. "You didn't?"

She gave him a little sympathy smile. "I'm sorry, bro, but you did give us permission to set you up if the opportunity presented itself."

He chuckled and shook his head, while mentally thinking. 'of all the night's it had to happen, why tonight', then he sighed with a nod. "Ok, I guess I have no choice."

Before Nicole could speak, Nick turned to talk to Julie, but noticed she wasn't standing there anymore, so he looked around and saw her heading for the lift, which watching her walk away, made him feel a pang go right to his heart, and what was weird was that it was a pang he never felt before, not even when he literately saw his ex-girlfriend cheating on him.

He mentally shook his head, and gave his sister a small smile before speaking. "Ok, let's meet this girl you set me up with."

* * *

He tried to have a good time, he really did, and if this greeting would have happened months, or weeks ago, heck maybe even yesterday, he might have been a little more receptive to her suggestive nature, but he wasn't, especially where is head and heart were concerned, so when the brown haired, thin build, 5'8 woman got up from the table to go to the bathroom, Nick took a breath and said. "Man guys, where did you find her?"

The other's around the table also looked shocked at the woman's behavior, and Nicole replied after a moment. "She's in our chemistry class. I'm sorry Nick, I, we had no idea she was like this outside of the classroom. She seems rather shy in there."

Nick chuckled as he took a drink of his beer. "Well, you could have fooled me."

Bryan smirked. "Yeah, I think she was one step away from taking you to the bathroom with her."

They all chuckled as Nick took another breath before he stood up and headed for the short distance to the railing so he could look down at the main area, and while the guys looked confused on what was up with Nick, Nicole looked at Lindsey. "Uh, Lindsey..."

Lindsey cuts her off as she was already standing up with the other woman's jacket. "Don't worry, I got this."

Nicole smiled with a nod as Lindsey walked away before she stood up from her spot and walked up to her brother, then spoke as she also looked down, finding Julie amongst her 'party', which all the women were various shapes and sizes, but still beautiful in their own right. "It wasn't only about her forwardness, was it?"

Nick sighed while watching Julie laughing with her group of people. "I honestly don't know."

Nicole shook her head as she looked at him. "And I don't believe you." Nick looked at her and was about to open his mouth before she continued with a smile. "I've seen you at your highest mood, down to your lowest, which I got to tell you, I have never seen your highest mood like I did when I saw you talking with Julie, and it would be a shame to deny and push something like that away."

"But it can't work that fast, can it?"

Nicole chuckled. "Come on Nick, we've heard the stories about our parents, and not to mention we watched Calleigh and Horatio fall in love from day one. Now you tell me it doesn't work that fast?"

"I guess you have a point, but I never thought it could happen to me, and it scares me on so many levels."

She then cupped his cheek. "I know you don't want to get hurt again, I really get it. But, if you ever want the future I know that you want, then eventually you're going to have to take a risk, a real risk."

There was a pause before he took a breath and whispered. "My feelings could be all moot, anyways, we don't even know how she..."

She cuts him off. "She does."

Nick raised an eyebrow at that. "How do you..."

She cuts him off again. "I'm a woman, I know it when I see it. But, she could be scared too, so maybe start out as being her friend." She then smirked as she moved her head to the side, indicating she was talking about the guys and Lindsey. "I mean it worked out with us."

Nick started to smile with a nod. "I guess so." There was one more pause before he asked. "And you're ok..."

She cuts him off. "Are you?"

He turned his head to look at her again, seeing her talking to a woman who could be one of her sisters, and whatever they were talking about, was making her happy, making him happy in return, so he nodded with a smile. "How can I not, she's beautiful."

Nicole chuckled as she removed her hand from his cheek. "Yep, you have it bad, brother. So, go talk to her."

He bit his lip as he asked. "You think I should, I mean, I don't want to crash their par..."

She cuts him off with a smirk. "I don't think they would mind, particularly her. Let her friends meet you."

He looked down at Julie one more time, a part of him afraid that if he didn't make this move, he might regret it, so he took a breath before looking at his sister with a nod and smile. "Ok, I'll do it, wish me luck."

Nicole smiled with her eyes beaming. "Good luck."

She then watched him turn around and rush towards the lift, and as he was going down it, Bryan walked up to his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and asked. "What's that all about?"

She nodded her head towards Julie. "Watch."

A few seconds later they see Nick cautiously walk up to the women and introduced himself to them, then after a moment, once the women walked away and left Julie and Nick alone, they watched a few shy smiles here and there before he held out his hand, asking for a dance, and after she placed her hand in his, he walked them towards the dance floor with the brightest smile they had ever seen, making them smile as Bryan spoke softly. "He finally found her, didn't he?"

She sighed in content being in his arms as she replied. "I believe so."

They stayed there for a few minutes before walking back to the table and told Lindsey and Kyle what could possibly go on.

* * *

After the dance

Once the fast pace song ended, Julie and Nick headed towards the bar, and he asked with a smile. "I would uh, I would like to do this again."

Confused, she asked. "What, another dance?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Yes, well it doesn't have to be another dance. It could be coffee, or maybe lunch sometime."

"Oh, I uh, I don't know...I..."

He cuts her off in a sincere tone. "Listen, I know we don't know each other, but in order for that to change we would have to..."

She cuts him off with a small smile. "No it isn't that, it's just, well, what about the women in your life?"

Nick raised an eyebrow at that. "The women in my..." He trailed off for a second, then remembered she saw him hugging Nicole and that must have given her the wrong impression, then maybe seeing Lindsey, only expanded the confusion, so he chuckled and nodded his head up towards the top floor. "You mean my twin sister and my brother's long time girlfriend?"

Julie looked up to see both women smiling and kissing their men before looking back a Nick, a little embarrassed she jumped to that conclusion. "Oh." He just smiled, and she cleared her throat with her cheeks a little red as she asked her next question, knowing it would have given her away of looking up at the balcony a few times. "Ok you got me there, but what about the other brown haired woman?"

Now knowing she looked up in his direction at least once, made his heart skip a few beats, before he shook his head with his smile getting wider as he explained. "A set-up that will never be repeated again, I assure you."

She chuckled with a nod in understanding, then he cleared his throat, turned to the bar to grab a napkin, took a pen and wrote his number down before handing it to her. "I'll tell you what, you call me after your interview tomorrow and I'll meet you anywhere you want, to either celebrate on your new job or you can vent on how much of a mistake they made if they didn't hire you."

Before she took the number, she smirked. "How do you know I am even any good at what I do, you don't even know me."

"No, but considering you're packing up your life and moving to a whole new city, you feel you are good enough to at least try, and that's good enough for me."

Julie took a moment before she took the napkin, and with a smile, he held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Julie."

She smiled in return as she shook his hand. "You too, Nick."

Once they release hands, Nick headed towards the stairs as Julie watched the whole time, her heart racing like never before, having a feeling meeting him was her life altering moment, which she thought getting a call to come here for an interview in the CSI lab was her life altering moment. She took a breath before heading back the area where her 'party' was.

* * *

Later that Night

Once the younger kids were put to bed, Horatio and Calleigh retreated to their room, and once they got ready for bed themselves, they laid down on their sides, face to face before he reached his hand to place it on her one month pregnant belly, and she smiled as she placed her hand on top of his. "You still ok about this?"

He chuckled as he leaned forward before whispering. "I am more than ok about this, sweetheart. Any kids that we have together is always a blessing." They peck each other on the lips a few times.

She nodded with a smile, sharing that same sentiment, before they stated kissing again, but before it could lead to anything, he sighed against her lips and pulled back, yawning, and Calleigh looked at him with sympathy. "Tired, handsome?"

He's been getting up a little earlier the last few days because he has been conducting interviews for the open Audio and Visual spot they had, and he was hoping tomorrow will be the last of them.

"Yeah, so..."

She shook her head wit ha smile as she cupped his cheek. "It's ok, maybe we can set up a date night for this weekend?"

His blue eyes were twinkling with a nod. "You got it, sweetheart."

She smiled in return, and after a few more kisses, they whispered their love to one another, cuddled in each other's arms and fell asleep shortly after.

* * *

AN: More to come. Hope you're still interested. Thanks for reading and please review.


	4. Next Day

Chapter 4: Next Day

Lunch time

After Nick pulled in the lab's parking lot, he parked in a parking spot before getting out of the vehicle and heading towards the front door, smiling at the receptionist, who was in her late fifties with dark, graying hair, brown eyes, around 5'5 and slim build, who was also smiling at him as if he was her own grandson. "Well, Nicholas I think you get more handsome each time I see you."

Nick shyly smiled at the compliment. "Thank you, Mrs. Greene."

"So, which one are you here for today?"

"Mom, it's my turn for the one on one lunch time get-together."

With the kids getting older and having their own lives, and even though the majority of the time they are having dinner as a family, they had promised Horatio and Calleigh that at least a couple times a month they would have one on one lunch time with either one of them, so they could catch them up on what's going on in their lives.

"Aww, you kids are so sweet to your parents." He smiled again, but before he could speak, she continued as she saw Horatio and another red head walking down the hall after walking out of his office. "And speaking of your parents, there's your dad."

Nick turned around in time to see his father handshaking a red haired woman, and smiled as he started to walk up to them. "Dad."

Horatio eyes lit up at the sound and sight of his son, and was about to speak, when the woman who had been hand shaking him, turned around at the sound of his voice. Then once they had eye contact, they both looked at one another in shock as Nick stopped walking before they said each other's names at the same time.

"Nick."

"Julie."

They then smiled before speaking once again at the same time, asking the same thing.

"What are you doing here?"

They both chuckled as Horatio was looking at them with amusement before he cleared his throat and asked. "You two know each other?"

Nick and Julie kept having eye contact for a few more seconds before he looked at his father and nodded with a smile. "Sort of, we met last night at the club." As Horatio nodded in understanding, he watched Nick and Julie have eye contact again, and the way Nick was looking at her, he had never seen that look in his eyes before, or at least none that he wanted to admit out-loud, when looking at another woman.

He was about to speak, when he saw Calleigh coming their way, and he smiled when she stopped next to Nick. "Julie, I would like you to meet, Calleigh Caine, she is a level 3 CSI, head of ballistics, my wife, and..."

Nick cuts him off with a smile. "My mom."

As Calleigh was holding out her hand to the younger woman, Horatio continued. "And Calleigh, I would like you to meet Julie Taylor, our new Audio/Visual expert."

Julie stopped mid shake with Calleigh with a look of surprise on her face as she smiled at her now new boss. "For real?"

Horatio nodded with a smile. "For real, welcome to the team."

Julie started to smile wider, and out of surprise, gave him a hug, which she immediately stepped back with a gasp and replied. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry Mr. Caine."

The other three chuckled with smiles before Horatio held up his hand and replied with a smile. "For one, that's ok, we like enthusiasm around her, just ask Calleigh."

Nick and Julie chuckled as Calleigh gave her husband a mock glare as she smirked. "Thanks a lot, handsome."

He smiled proudly at being called that before looking at Julie again. "And secondly, it's 'H' or Horatio."

Julie nodded in understanding before holding out her hand. "You got it, and I won't let you down."

He took the younger woman's hand for another handshake and replied as he looked at Nick for a second, intending for that to be a double meaning. "I hope not."

While they release hands, Nick spoke with a smile to Julie. "Well, now that you have the job, how about that lunch we talked about last night." Calleigh was confused about something, so she was about to speak, but Nick continued as he looked at his mom. "If it's ok with you mom?"

Like Horatio, Calleigh could see a different sparkle in her son's eyes, so she smiled. "Well, why don't you two just go, we can go another day."

"You sure?"

She nodded with the smile still on her face. "I am, if she wants to go of course."

When all eyes turned to Julie, she nodded with a smile. "Sure, why not."

Nick smiled wider, happy for these turn events, not that he wasn't looking forward to eating with his mom or anything, but this was an opportunity he didn't want to let slip by, and asked. "So, do you need a ride?'

"Actually yeah, my sister has the car. I was suppose to call her once my interview was concluded."

Nick nodded in understanding, and after saying goodbye to his parents, Nick and Julie started walking towards the exit of the building, then once they were, Calleigh looked at her husband with confusion. "I feel like I missed something big."

Before he responded to that, he asked with a smile/smirk. "How about lunch? Since it seems your date has bailed on you."

Calleigh chuckled before replying with love in her eyes. "I would love to handsome. Chinese?"

He nodded as they headed for the door. "You've read my mind, sweetheart."

And all Nancy Greene could do was smile at the family she saw from behind her receptionist desk. She may have not been in the inner circle, or saw them every time, but what she did witness, she could tell the Caine family really loved, cared and supported one another, and it was a beautiful thing to see.

* * *

As Horatio pulled his vehicle out of the parking lot, he finally addressed the question Calleigh had asked while they were in the lab. "I guess they met last night at the club."

Calleigh looked at him in surprise. "Really? Because the way they were looking at one another it almost seemed like they knew each other a lot longer."

"Which normally I would agree with you, but she's from Boston, so unless she's been her before, they..."

Calleigh cuts her off with a smile. "Are a love at first sight match."

Horatio nodded with a smile. "It would appear so."

Calleigh then sighed as she continued. "I just hope it works out of them, because if anybody deserves it, it's him. He's had it the toughest, and it didn't help that his first feelings of love was towards Lindsey."

Calleigh and Horatio have been CSI's for years, and not much got past them, so they could see the signs that their son had developed feelings for his brother's girlfriend, and it wasn't easy to watch, but they knew they couldn't take sides because it would hurt the other child, so they held back from interfering and hoped with all their might that things could be resolved peacefully, which they were thankful it did, because a rift like that could have changed their family dynamic in a very different and unsettling way.

Horatio nodded with a sigh of his own. "I know, it was hard watching that."

Calleigh nodded in agreement before asking. "Is that why you offered her the job? Afraid she might not stay in Miami? Thus hurting our son?"

"I was on the fence, it was between her and one other I had interviewed the first day. But I don't know, there was just something about Julie that I liked a little more. The interview went great, she graduated high school and college at the top of her class, every note I read in her file there was nothing but good things said about her from her co-workers. Then when I saw their interaction, something in my gut told me I would regret not picking her. So, do you think I made the right choice?"

She smiled as she looked at her husband. "Handsome, your instincts are the best I've ever seen, so if you felt that she checked all the boxes that we need here, then yes, I believe you made the correct choice."

He smiled in return with a nod before commenting. "I really do." Then he smiled a little bigger as he finished. "And if it just so happens to help our son out, then that's just a bonus."

Calleigh chuckled as she placed her hand on his thigh. "My thoughts exactly."

* * *

When Julie and Nick arrived at the diner, both were still in a happy mood for pretty much the same reason, her getting to stay in Miami. Then after they sat down, the waitress came over to the table, and immediately Julie saw her checking Nick out, and it would have bothered her, but he wasn't paying attention to the other woman, so she mentally smirked in victory while ordering an ice tea, which Nick also ordered that.

While they were waiting on their drinks, something came to Julie's mind as she asked. "Is it ok if I ask you a question?"

Nick nodded with a smile. "Shoot, I'm an open book."

There was a small pause before she started to speak again. "I don't want offend you or anybody in your family, but your par..."

Nick cuts her off with a look of understanding. "Biologically speaking, they aren't my parents."

Before he could continue, their drinks were set at the table and they ordered, then once the waitress left them alone again, Nick continued to tell her the story, and Julie listened to every word, heartbroken that him and his sister had to go through that, but happy that they found a loving home.

When he was done talking, he smiled wider as he pulled out his wallet, grabbed a family photo and handed it to her while saying. "And these two, Anthony and Jenny, are our little brother and sister, with, and don't tell anybody this, but another one on the way."

Julie smiled. "Congratulations." As Nick nodded, he picked up his drink while she looked at the family photo, particularly at Calleigh and Nicole, before replying. "You have a beautiful family."

With his heart racing, he used his free hand and placed it over her wrist and said softly. "And so are you, don't let anybody convince you otherwise."

Julie looked up from the photo and looked into Nick's eyes to see the sincerity and honesty in them before she started to smile shyly.

Their moment was interrupted when the waitress cleared her throat, and when Julie looked into her brown eyes, she could have sworn she saw a glare.

After the plates where in front of them, the waitress turned to leave while Julie grabbed her cup of water, and as she was taking a sip, Nick spoke with a smirk. "Well, that's going against her tip."

Julie snorted making the water go all over, and Nick chuckled slightly as he handed her some napkins. "I'm sorry."

Julie chuckled with a wave of her hand. "It's ok."

She took the napkins from him before she wiped her face and the table, then once it was cleaned, he asked in concern. "You ok?"

"Yeah, no problem." After he nodded with a smile, she picked up her fork while changing the subject. "So, you say you're an open book, right?"

He stopped his fork mid-air as he replied with a smirk. "Oh no, what do I have to be open about?"

She smiled. "Just getting to know you."

He nodded with a smile. "Ok, I'll tell you things, but you have to tell me things too, fair is fair."

After she nodded in agreement, they went back and forth of telling each other a few stories or just a single moment that happened in their lives.

* * *

As they were finishing up their meal, Julie excused herself to go to the bathroom, and when she returned to the main area, she could see their waitress was over there chatting it up with Nick, just like Julie had suspected. She sighed as she walked a little ways, and when her eyes met Nick's, he just tilted his head to the side, indicating she didn't even have to go to the table and he would meet her out there, which after a short nod, he started to stand up with Julie's coat in his arm and told the waitress as polite as he could that he had to go, but then she took his hand and wrote her number on it with a smile and walked away.

Nick sighed as he walked outside, then with an apologetic look, he handed Julie her jacket. "Julie I'm..."

She cuts him off, knowing he didn't give the other woman any encouragement, but sometimes that didn't matter. "It's ok, I get it." Then she started walking to his vehicle without another word.

Nick sighed again before following her, feeling their good mood had just soured, then just as they got to his vehicle and before she could turn the corner to get to the passenger side, Nick lightly took her wrist and whispered. "Julie, please can we talk."

She turned around to look at him, and sighed with a nod before she started speaking again. "We might as well get this out now." Before he could speak, she continued. "We may live on the same planet but I know we do not live in the same world, and while it took me awhile, I finally accepted that, accepted who I was, and who I was never going to be."

"Julie..."

She cuts him off again. "And I like you, ok, which I can't believe I am already admitting this, but I..."

This time Nick cuts her off with a smile. "Then that's all you have to say, because I like you too." When he saw the shocked look, his smile got wider. "Oh come on, it can't be that much of a surprise."

Trying to hold back her emotions, she cleared her throat and admitted something painful. "I was wrong before."

Feeling her pain, he shook his head and replied with the truth. "Well, you're not wrong now, and I don't care if we are considered to be in different worlds. I don't care what people think on who we are suppose to be like or who we should be attracted to. If I'm attracted to someone, then I'm attracted to them." Then he leans toward her and whispers. "And I am very much attracted to you."

She smiled, almost blushing, which she wanted to slap herself for acting like a school girl, but being around him made her feel like that, and she couldn't help it. Then she cleared her throat and said. "I just don't want there to be any games. I don't want you to say something to my face then turn around and do the opposite."

"And I won't, I promise."

After looking into his eyes for several seconds, she looked down and whispered. "I want to believe you, I really do, but..."

He cuts her off. "I know, I don't want to get hurt either, again."

She lifted her head up to look at him with a little shock again. "You've been hurt before?"

"Why do you sound so surprised, do you think I'm the one that does the hurting or can't feel hurt?"

She shyly smiled. "Sorry." Then she smirked. "What an idiot she was."

He chuckled before he took a breath and replied. "So, what I suggest is maybe we start out slow, like friends."

Understanding, she sighed. "Right, friends, like I've never hear that code bef..."

He cuts her off as he took her hand in his with a smile. "Then after multiple breakfasts, or lunches, or possibly a few dinners, and if you still feel the way after a certain amount of time, we up our status."

She smiled as raised an eyebrow. "If 'I' still feel the same way, shouldn't there be a 'we'?"

He smirked back. "Nope, because I know when my feelings are set in stone."

"You really think so?"

Being 100% serious, he nodded. "Yes, because I never felt this way before, and as scary as it is, I'm not going to run from it. I'm ready when you are."

"And as much as I want to dive head first into this with you, I think it would be wise to take you up on the suggestion of going slow."

He smiled with understanding. "You got it. Now how about we get out of here?"

She nodded with a smile before she finally headed for the passenger side door while he went the driver's side.

* * *

Later that evening

While the Caine family, including Bryan and Lindsey, were out on the deck enjoying their dinner, Kyle spoke after swallowing his bite of spaghetti. "So Nick, when do we get to meet your new girlfriend?"

When all eyes turned to him, he shook his head and replied. "She's not my girlfriend...yet, we are taking things slow."

They all smiled while nodding in understanding before Nicole took the next question. "So, when do we get to officially meet your new friend?"

Even though technically she already did meet Julie, it didn't feel official to her.

There was no hesitation when he replied. "Soon, I just want her to get to know me before throwing the rest of my family in the mix." They all chuckled before he continued while looking at Kyle. "Although Kyle, you'll see her sooner rather than later."

Kyle looked up from his meal with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, how do you figure that?"

He nodded towards their father. "Dad hired her at the lab, so when you are there learning the 'family' business, she'll be in the Audio/Visual lab."

Kyle smiled. "Really, dad?"

Horatio nodded with a smile. "Yes, I believe she is a good fit."

Kyle spoke again. "Cool." Then he looked at his brother again. "And I'm glad you two met, you look happier."

Nick smiled with eyes sparkling. "I am. I think for the first time in a long time, I can honestly say I am 100% happy on where my life is going."

As they go back to eating, Calleigh and Horatio share a smile and nod, happy that their son was finally happy, and hope it not only continues for him, but for the others as well.

* * *

AN: Anybody still interested? Thanks for reading and please review.


	5. Boy or Girl?

AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter. Warning:Implied/Suggestive adult behavior.

* * *

Chapter 5: Boy or Girl?

Christmas, 2013

After Kyle woke up, which he was spooned behind Lindsey, he moved his arms away from her slowly before getting out of the bed the best he could without trying to move the bed so much, then after transferring to his wheelchair, which he was becoming an expert at, he grabbed his clothes from his dresser before rolling out of the room and towards the bathroom.

When he was done and fully refreshed, he rolled back into his room and saw Lindsey now laying so she was facing towards his door, so he smiled as he rolled to his nightstand and opened it before pulling out a box, then after closing the drawer, he rolled up further to the bed and gently ran his hand up her bare arm until it reached the sleeves of the t-shirt she was wearing, which was one of his old ones. "Lindsey, sweetie, wake up."

A few more words were said and she slowly opened her eyes, then smiled as she looked at her man. "Good morning, babe."

He smiled in return. "Yeah it is, and I have something for you."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

He held out his hand, showing her the black box, and her eyes get wide, fully awake now. "Kyle, I..."

He cuts her off with a smile. "It's ok, it isn't what you are thinking."

She sighed in relief before looking into his eyes. "You know that I want to, but..."

He cuts her off again as he cupped her cheek with his other hand. "I know, babe. Marriage is a huge step, and one I'm not ready for either, despite how much we love one another. Besides, one I would like to be more financially stable, and two, when that time comes, I would like us to be living in our own place."

She nodded in agreement with a smile. "Yes, I would like that."

"One day we will get there." After a nod in agreement, he continued after clearing his throat. "So, are you going to open your Christmas present or what?"

She smiled again as she reached for the box, then when she could open it, she saw a beautiful charm bracelet, making her gasp in wonder. "It's beautiful."

He took the charm bracelet out of its box, and showed her the three charms that was already on it.

"A heart, because you own my heart. I know cheesy, but go with it, please." She chuckled before he continued.

"A Book, because you love to read and get lost in the adventure you are reading about."

"And a golden retriever puppy, because that is your dream dog that I'm going to get for you one day."

After he took a hold of her hand, he brings it close to him and kissed her wrist before clipping the bracelet around it, then she moved closer to the edge of the bed, cupped his cheek and whispered. "I love you so much. Thank you for my gift."

"I love you too, and you're welco..."

His words were cut off when her lips touched his but he didn't mind, he loved her kisses.

When they pulled back slowly, she moved to reach his cheek before going to his ear and whispered as he closed his eyes. "Why don't you come back into bed, so we can enjoying a few more kisses."

He cleared his throat as she moved down to his neck. "I wish I can, but I promised Anthony I would sit with him while he has breakfast."

She smiled against his neck and pulled back before cupping his cheek again. "You're such a good brother, and that's one of the things I love most about you."

He smiled in return. "But rain check on your offer."

"You better believe it. I'll be out there in a few minutes."

He nodded, and after they shared one more kiss, she pulled back as he maneuvered his chair before rolling out of his room, and she sighed in content watching him, still loving him just as much as she did when they first started dating. Things were different for sure since that time, they had to adjust to what happened to him, but he was here with her, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Later that evening

After family and friends arrived at the Caine household, they passed presents around and opened the many gifts that were under the tree.

Once the majority of the gifts were opened, Horatio and Calleigh stood in front of the Christmas tree before Calleigh cleared her throat with a smile "I know as much as you guys were here for the gifts and company, I think we can all agree that the main reason you are all here is for something else."

Nicole smiled with her eyes sparkling. "Is it time?"

Horatio held up an envelope with a smile as Calleigh continued with a nod. "It is time to find out if we are having another boy or girl."

When it was time to find out what they were having, they decided to wait till Christmas to actually find out, even though there were times when they wanted to know, they held strong. After they told the kids about the pregnancy, they were happy about the news, but they started to once again bet on what it will be, or in Nicole's case, what she wanted it to be. Not that she didn't love her brothers, but she was hoping for another girl so the sexes would be even.

There was a moment of pause, and Kyle started to do a drum roll, making everybody laugh as Horatio smiled. "Thank you, son."

He just nodded while Horatio and Calleigh looked at one another before bringing their concentration to the envelope, and after opening it, they both slid the piece of paper out, turned it over, and with smiles on their faces, Horatio announced. "Well, Caine family, I hope you are going to welcome your new baby sister."

Everybody cheered, including Nick and Kyle, even though they lost the bet, then the Caine 'kids' went to their parents to share their personal congratulations.

After a bit, even though the guests had remained after all the presents were opened, Nicole started to clean the dishes that was in the sink, and when she was done, she turned around just in time to see Nick, Kyle and Lindsey smiling at her as they came into the kitchen, so she asked with a raised eyebrow. "What's going on?"

Lindsey took that answer as she walked up to her best friend. "We were informed there was a present you forgot to open."

Before she could reply, Nick continued while holding out a tie blond fold. "But you are required to be blind folded before you can accept it."

Nicole chuckled and shook her head. "What is really going on here?"

Kyle then spoke as he rolled up to her. "Do you trust us?"

She looked at her siblings before looking at her best friend, then looked at Kyle again with emotion. "You know I do."

He then smiled. "Then it's best just to go with it, I promise you'll like your gift."

She nodded a second later with a smile. "Ok, bring it on."

They chuckled, and after Lindsey took the material from Nick, she placed it over Nicole's eyes and tied in the back, then she placed her hands on her best friend's shoulders and told her to start walking, which she did, through the kitchen door, right into the dinning room, then turned left to got out on the deck from the dinning room, and once they were on it, they headed straight for the stairs.

After Lindsey guided her down them, they took a few steps in the sand before Lindsey said. "You can take it off now."

Nicole spoke as she slid the blind fold up from his eyes. "Ok, you guys, what is the meaning of all..."

She stopped short when she realized she was standing in front of the man she loved, who was wearing a tux, making her heart race, and if she would have look behind her, she would have noticed five tiki torches in the sand, while her family was standing on the deck watching the scene with smiles and tears in their eyes.

She took a moment to gather her thoughts before asked. "Bryan, what are you doing?"

He smiled as he took her hand. "This day eight years ago, I asked the most important question I thought I was ever going to ask up to that point in my life. Now fast-forward to tonight, I'm about to ask you the most important question of my life, ever." Nicole had tears in her eyes already as he moved his hand to cup her cheek while he continued. "I know we still have more schooling to go through, and these next few years will be even more pressure on us with you trying to become a teacher and me a doctor, and we can still wait to actually tie the knot. But I don't think I can wait another year, let alone anther minute without asking, so Nicole Owings-Caine." He pulled a ring box out of his pocket and kneeled down while opening it up with a smile. "Will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife?"

Nicole didn't even hesitate, she nodded with tears in her eyes, whispering. "Yes."

Before Bryan could react, Kyle shouted. "What she say, we can't hear her."

Nicole chuckled then shouted for everybody to hear. "Yes Bryan Woods, I'll marry you!"

He slid the modest diamond ring on her ring finger, stood up, and they kissed while everybody cheered.

When they pulled back, she looked at her family and shouted. "I'm engaged!"

They did another round of cheering while Nicole looked at her man again with her eyes sparkling as she whispered while wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, babe, and thank you for saying yes."

"And thank you for asking."

After another peck on the lips, they pull back again before he slid his hand down her arm so he could slip his fingers through hers before he walked them back up the deck, where they were personally congratulated, and when it was Horatio's turn, Nicole found out that Bryan had asked her father for her hand in marriage, and it only made her love her fiancé even more.

* * *

Nick and Julie, who had upgraded their status to boyfriend and girlfriend a few weeks ago, was walking hand in hand to her apartment, and she smiled as they stopped in front of her apartment door. "Thank you for inviting me to spend Christmas with you."

When she had an offer to go to Boston for a few days, she decided not to go because Nick had asked if she wanted to spend the holidays with him.

He nodded with a smile. "Of course, thank you for coming, so what do you think of the Caine family, and plus?"

She chuckled at the last thing he said before replying. "Everybody was so nice to me, I liked them a lot, especially Nicole."

With the smile still on his face, he nodded. "Well, Nicole likes you too."

"Really?"

"Yep, and a lot of it is, well..."

"Well, what?"

He shyly admitted. "Because you're keeping her brother so happy."

"I am, huh?"

He slowly lifted his hand to cup her cheek, and when there was no rejection or fear in her eyes, the palm of his hand finally touched as he replied. "Very much so."

She then smiled, her heart racing about a mile a minute. "I haven't done anything to warrant your happiness."

"Of course you have, just you being near me, makes me happy."

She swallowed as she whispered in return. "I feel the same way."

"I'm glad."

They continued to look into each other's eyes as he started to lean forward, then when he was a breath away, he was about to ask, but the words never left his mouth because she closed the gap, not able to stop herself, which he didn't seem to mind because he started kissing her, and she wasn't that far behind reciprocating.

After several minutes, they slowly pulled back before placing their foreheads together, and he whispered softly. "Finally."

She chuckled as she replied. "I very much agree."

He pulled away from her as he cleared his throat. "So, since my family likes you and you like them, you don't mind spending more time with them?"

"Not at all."

"Good because my family, particularly my younger siblings, mean the world to me. I like to be around them as much as I can."

"And that's what makes you an amazing brother." She took a breath before she finished. "And I don't have to be with you there every time."

He shook his head and replied in a soothing tone. "But I want you there as much as you can too. Now, I know my family can't cancel out yours by any means, but..."

She cuts him off. "I get it, and whenever you want me there too, I'll be there."

His eyes sparkled with a nod. "Alright, thank you."

"You're welcome."

There was pause before he took a breath and said. "I better go."

She nodded with a smile "That's probably the best."

He nodded, and after a shared tender kiss and look, Nick turned to leave while Julie walked into her apartment with the biggest smile she ever had on her face with her lips still tingling from his kisses, very thankful that kissing him didn't dampen the fire/chemistry between them. If anything it only heightened it, so rather than risk what could have happened had he stayed, she was kind of glad he chose to leave because she was definitely not ready for that step.

* * *

After putting the kids to sleep, Horatio and Calleigh headed for the room, and as Calleigh was in the bathroom and Horatio was in the bedroom, getting ready for bed, they were talking about how wonderful the evening was, particularly how happy their kids looked, and the engagement between Nicole and Bryan.

As Horatio, who was only his boxers and shirt, was unbuttoning the shirt, Calleigh walked out of the bathroom and cleared her throat before whispering. "Well, handsome I believe you have one more present to open."

He turned towards the bathroom doorway with a smile, seeing her in one of her nighties, as he walked up to her and whispered. "I really like this gift, I'm just glad I don't always have to wait for Christmas to get it."

She chuckled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now that would be torture."

His eyes get darker as he whispered again. "You're telling me."

They kissed with a passion next as he turned her body so it was against the door frame, when they pulled back several minutes later, he moved his lips to her neck, then down to her collarbone, shoulder, down her arm, making her chuckle a little before he was kneeling down so he as eye level with her four month pregnant stomach, and with tears in his eyes, he placed his hand on it, leaned toward it and kissed it softly before whispering against it. "I love you sweet girl, and when you come into this world, you're going to be showered with so much love, and be protected, not only be your parents, but siblings as well. Continue to grow strong and we'll see you soon, ok? Can't wait." He kissed it one more time before turning his head so his ear is against it while closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his wife's waist.

Calleigh, who had tears in her eyes, while watching her husband, let him have this moment while she ran her fingers though his hair.

After a moment or two had past, he cleared his throat as he moved his head so he could look up at her with shinning eye. "I'm sorry."

She smiled a beaming smile as she cupped his cheek. "Oh, handsome, you have nothing to be sorry about, you were just having a moment with our daughter."

He sighed in content as he stood up before he cupped her cheek and whispered. "Another daughter, I can't believe it."

"That's what you wanted, wasn't it?"

He shyly replied. "Nothing wrong with having more sons, but there is just something about being surrounded by my girls."

She placed her hand on top of his that was on her cheek as she smiled. "I know what you mean, I get that way with my boys."

He smiled with his eyes sparkling as he moved closer to her. "I hope I'm included in that."

"Oh most def..."

She gets cut off as his lips landed on hers again, then she gasped, but immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, when he picked her up bridal style and headed for the bed, and after laying her down, he pulled back slowly to look into her eyes. "I love you Calleigh Caine, always."

She smiled as she started to move up, making him move so he was sitting on his knees, until she reached for his shirt and slid it off him before whispered as she ran her hand up his chest. "I love you too Horatio Caine, always and forever."

He smirked as he leaned closer to her. "Always have to up-one me, don't you?"

"Alwa..."

She gets cut off again, making them smile against one anther's lips before it became passionate again as she was lowered back on the bed, then before long they were lost in their own world, loving and cherishing one another.

* * *

AN: Hope you enjoyed it, and are interested in the last two chapters. Thanks for reading and please review.


	6. Hope

AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter. Warning: A few questionable words.

* * *

Chapter 6: Hope

Early May, 2014

While Anthony and Jenny were with Natalia, the older Caines and their significant others were sitting in the waiting area at the hospital waiting for news about their mom and youngest Caine.

They were there for hours, until Horatio finally came in the waiting room, absolutely beaming, and after he informed them that the doctor didn't want the room too crowded, only the siblings followed Horatio back to the room.

Once they made it inside, they see Calleigh sitting up in bed, looking tired, but like Horatio, absolutely beaming, and when she noticed them in the room, she smiled. "Hey guys, come meet your newest sister, Hope."

They smiled bigger as they made to her bed, then after kissing her forehead, Calleigh whispered to her newborn. "Ok, little one, you are going to meet some very special people who will be there for you to protect you."

After handing Hope off to Nicole first, Calleigh and Horatio were watching their oldest 'kids' bond with their youngest, and much like when Anthony and Jenny came into their lives, their hearts were captured at first sight.

* * *

Once their visit was over and everybody got to have a chance to hold her, Nick and Julie left the hospital first, wanting to go out and continue with their plans for a date night at the club, then once they had a few dances and a drink, they headed towards his apartment.

After they walked in, and when their jackets were off, he asked. "You want anything to drink?"

She walked through the wide opened area that was the kitchen/dinning area to head for the living room. "How about a little wine, I mean we are celebrating, right?"

He nodded with a smile as he started the task. "Of course."

He poured the liquid in the wine glasses, then headed for the living room, and after handing her the glass, she thanked him as he sat down next to her, and he nodded with a smile before they clinked glasses. "To Hope."

She nodded with the smile still on her face. "To hope."

They took a sip, and after they swallowed, she spoke again as she was looking at him. "You were amazing with her. In fact, you are amazing with Anthony and Jenny too. I believe you're going to be an amazing father someday."

He took another sip of his drink and placed it on a coaster on the coffee table, turned to her as he asked softly. "You really think so?"

She nodded as she placed her hand on his and squeezed it lightly. "I really do."

Before she could ask him if he ever wanted to be a father, Nick gets a sad look on his face as he looked down at their hands. "I may have doubts about myself in that department, but I know Kyle could have been, he should have been able to be a father one day."

Julie gets a sad look on her face as she removed her hand from his to cup his cheek while speaking softly. "He can still be one."

He sighed with a nod. "True, but..."

He trials off and looks down while Julie ran her thumb up and down his cheek. "Nick, what is..."

He cuts her off with a sigh as he looked at her again. "Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with adopting, hell, I am adopted, and I would never question the love that Horatio and Calleigh have for me or Nicole, and to some extension, Kyle. But I see the way they look at Anthony, Jenny, and now Hope, they are children that they created out of their love, nothing beats that look. And I would've liked to have seen that look in Kyle's eyes every time he looked at his children."

A few tears were in Julie's eyes at how lovingly he talked about his family, particularly Kyle, there was no question about it, Nick looked up to Kyle very much, so she said what she was thinking. "I love how you talk about your family."

He smiled a little shyly as he asked. "Yeah?"

She nodded with a smile. "Yeah, it shows how big your heart is."

He removed his hand from hers and cupped her cheek as she was taking a sip of her drink, he replied without even thinking of holding back. "Well, I love you."

She just about choked on her drink, and started coughing, making him say he was sorry with a horrified look on his face as he grabbed her wine glass and sets it down on the coffee table before cupping her cheek and running his thumb up and down as she got over her coughing fit, then he said sorry one more time.

She waved it off with a chuckle. "I'm ok."

"You sure?" After she nodded, she coughed a few more times while he smirked. "I guess I shouldn't talk when you are taking a drink of something."

She chuckled again before replying. "It's probably for the best."

When everything was calmed down, she started to look at him with shock, and he nodded with a smile. "It's true, I do, and it's a love I've never felt before. Now you don't have to..."

She cuts him off softly. "I love you too, Nick."

His eyes lit up like she's never seen, outside of when he's looking at his family, as he asked. "Really?"

"Really." She looked down at she continued after sigh. "When I first met you, I wasn't sure if my feelings for you was because of how we met, but as we've started to get to know one another." She looked into his brown eyes again. "I know without a doubt my feelings for you are real and true." She cupped his cheek as she finished. "I love you, Nick."

Both feeling emotional at hearing and believing their words, they lean toward one and kissed, softly at first before it became passionate.

After a bit, she was laying on the couch with him above her, and when his hand slipped under the hem of her shirt, he felt her shudder, so he pulled back instantly and said softly. "I'm sorry, too fast?"

She shook her head with a smile. "No, I was just thinking that maybe we can take this into your bedroom?"

Nick's heart race at her offer and he asked. "You sure, because we can wait a little longer?"

"I am. I may be nervous as hell, but I am."

He gave her a warming smile as he moved to get up off the couch, and after helping her up, he cupped her cheek and replied with nothing but love. "I'm with you every step of the way, and I'll stop anytime you want me to, ok?"

She took a breath with a nod. "Ok, I trust you."

"Good."

After a round of tender kissing, they pull back and he slowly walked them towards his room, ready to show his girlfriend just how much he really did love and cherish her.

* * *

When Nicole, Bryan, Kyle and Lindsey left the hospital, they headed for Natalia's place to get Anthony and Jenny so they could bring them home, and once they got to their parents place, Lindsey and Kyle said goodnight to them before Bryan and Nicole did the routine of getting the kids down for bed time.

After they were safely tucked in their beds, they walked out of their rooms, meeting one another in the hall, making them smile as they closed the doors.

"Out like a light." Nicole said.

Bryan nodded with a smile, indicating that's what happened with Anthony as well, as he started to walk towards her, then after taking her hand, he was walking them towards the stairs, but she tugged on his hand and moved her head to the side, wanting him to follow her the other way, so with curiosity, he did, but was a little worried when they ended up in her parent's bedroom.

"Uh, Nicole?"

She chuckled as she tugged on his arm again. "Relax, I just want to talk to you for a second."

After a short nod, they headed for the bed and sat down at the end of it, then after a moment of silence, he asked as he squeezed her hand. "What's wrong, you ok?"

She nodded before looking over at him. "Yeah, I was just thinking."

He smiled warmly as he asked. "About what?"

"About us and babies."

He smiled brightly at that. "I love that thought." Then he got a little worried. "You still want them, right?"

She nodded with a bright smile. "Of course."

He sighed in relief before asking. "Then what about..."

She cuts him off with another sigh. "If we hadn't chosen to continue with our schooling, then I was thinking we could have tried in the next year or two."

He gave her a sympathy look as he cupped her cheek with his hand. "I know, babe, but we both agreed to wait until after all of that was done and we started our careers."

She softly replied. "I know." Then she started to sniffle. "I just sometimes can't wait to have a child with you, to see you light up as he or she comes into this world."

His eyes was even misting up as he whispered while running his thumb up and down her cheek. "And you'll get that chance, I promise. I'm sure as hell don't want to miss that sight coming from you as well."

She cupped his cheek and they brought their faces close to one another and started kissing, which didn't take them long to get passionate, but before they got too carried away, Bryan whispered against her lips. "I just remembered where we still are."

She chuckled as she pulled back. "Yeah me too, so it's best if we stop right here."

His eyes started to become a passionate as he whispered. "But rain check?"

There was no hesitation in her reply. "Definitely."

After a small peck on the lips, he whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They get up from the bed before walking out of the bedroom, and heading downstairs.

* * *

15 minutes earlier

After saying goodnight to his younger siblings, Kyle headed for the back deck as Lindsey asked. "You want me to get some wine?"

He nodded with a smile, even though she couldn't see him. "Sure."

When Lindsey walked outside a few minutes later, she sees Kyle toward the railing off the deck so her arms were on top of it with his chin on top of his hands as he looked out in the darken horizon.

She sets the glasses down on the table before walking up to her man, then stops at the side of him and placed her hand on his back before running it up and down while asking softly. "You ok?"

He took a breath and nodded. "Yeah, just thinking."

"About?"

He removed his arms from the railing, reached for her hand and rolled back a little so she could come in front of him and sit on his lap, and once she was comfortable, blue eyes met blue eyes as he spoke. "Seeing our parents with Hope this evening, got me thinking about our future when it comes to..."

Lindsey cuts him off softly. "Children."

He nodded before continuing. "I know how much you want a child."

Lindsey's eyes got wide as she started to speak. "Kyle we don't have to..."

He cuts her off softly. "We do have to talk about this eventually, you know that. We've talked about everything but that since I've been back."

She nodded as she looked down. "I know, I just didn't want to make you upset."

He removed one of his arms from her waist and lifted her chin up with his finger before cupping her cheek and smiling a little. "I will not get upset, I promise."

Curious on why he was smiling like that, she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I want you to have a child, a biological one."

She shook her head. "Not if I can't have one with you, I won't do it. If adoption is our only option, then so be it, I will not..."

She trialed off as she started to have tears in her eyes, then before she could look away from him, he replied softly. "And what if you still can have one with me?"

She replied softly. "How, I thought..."

He cuts her off. "There is something you should know."

"What is it?"

He took a moment before he told her. "Before I left, I went to a clinic, and I..."

He trailed off getting a little red in the face, and she gasped in understanding. "You didn't?"

He nodded with a smile. "I did." Then got a little sad after a sigh. "If worse came to worse, and if you still wanted a piece of me with you, then I wanted to make sure you at least had a chance."

Now Lindsey was shock that having a biological child with the man she loved could still be an option, and as that thought kept going through her head, it started to overwhelm her and she started sobbing, so he brought her closer to him and kissed her head. "It's ok Lindsey, let it out."

When she was finally calmed down, she started sniffling while saying. "I just didn't think this could happen for us. Does anybody else know?"

He nodded with a small smile. "Just my dad."

She nodded in return before her eyes got brighter as she spoke again. "Wow, this is unbelievable. It could really happen, I could still get a little piece of you."

His eyes were beaming with a nod. "Yes, when the time is right, you say the word and I'll do everything we can to make it happen."

Now her eyes were looking at him with determination as she whispered while cupping his cheek again. "You better believe it, babe."

They lean forward and share a few kisses before they place their foreheads together and closed their eyes as she whispered. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Their moment gets interrupted when Nicole, who had walked outside with Bryan, spoke. "Everything ok?"

They pulled back and Lindsey looked over at her best friend with a smile, a beaming one at that. "Perfect."

Nicole just smiled back, and while her and Bryan were sitting down at the table, Lindsey started to get up from Kyle's lap, but he placed a hand on her arm and said. "Stay." Then he smirked. "I'll drive."

She chuckled before looking at him lovingly. "Babe, I'm not Anthony, or Jenny for that matter."

Now that Jenny has gotten a little older, and notices Anthony gets rides from Kyle, Jenny did too.

With love and protectiveness in his eyes, he said. "I'll get you there safely, don't worry."

Seeing that look rendered her in that spot, so she just nodded with a smile, and while he had to put in a little more effort to get to their destination, he did it safely, and once they were at the table, they sighed before Nicole spoke with a smile. "I can't believe it, another Caine to protect."

Kyle nodded with a smile. "I know, now there is six of us."

Lindsey smirked her next comment. "So, does that make you guys the Brady Bunch?"

They chuckled before Nicole replied. "None of use have curls, so I don't think so."

They chuckled again before Kyle grabbed his wine glass and lifted it up for a toast. "To Hope, our sister, and to the future."

The other three grabbed their glasses with smiles, raised their glasses up, repeated the sentiment, and took sips of their drinks.

* * *

When it was just Calleigh, Horatio and Hope in the room, Calleigh looked down at her little girl with a smile and tears in her eyes. "Well, little one those were your oldest brothers and sister, you still have another brother and sister to meet very soon." She leans down and kisses her forehead before whispering. "I love you so much, Hope."

After she pulled back, she looked towards her husband, who had tears in his eyes, and she cleared her throat before whispering. "Come on handsome, it's your turn to hold our newest princess."

He nodded as he cleared his throat before his youngest daughter was placed in his arms, and when he looked down he spoke with so much emotion. "Hi sweetheart, I'm your dad, and I love you so much." He bent down and kissed her forehead before pulling back and just looked at her, his heart filling with more joy and love he didn't know what to do with.

He looked up at his wife, both sharing the emotions on their face as he spoke with love. "Thank you, you are amazing, you know that? What you have done for me is beyond anything I could express with words."

She smiled as she cupped his cheek. "Then I guess if we were in another moment, I would have been glad to let you show me."

He chuckled softly before whispering. "Rain Check?"

She ran her thumb up and down his cheek as she replied with love and passion. "Oh, you better believe, handsome."

After a long, deep look between them, they look down at their beautiful little girl, just falling more in love with her each second that passed by.

* * *

AN: Hope you are all interested in the last chapter. Thanks for reading and please review.


	7. A little over a year later

Chapter 7: A little over a year later

August 11, 2015

Surrounded by family and friends in the club, where the private party was set up, so they had the place to themselves, Horatio was standing on the second floor, looking down at his wonderful family, a family he cherished more than anything in this world.

Growing up like he did, and losing a lot of people he loved, he honestly thought he would have never ended up like this, being married to a loving, beautiful, smart, fiercely protective wife, having four biological children, three of whom were with the said amazing wife, and two adoptive children he loved as if they were his own.

He smiled as he looked towards the dance floor, where Nick, who has been a cop for a little over a year now, was holding 1 year old, Hope, who was all Horatio, even the red hair, while Julie was with them as well. After years of frustration and struggle to find his 'one', it was safe to say that Nick had finally found her, and Horatio couldn't have been more happy for him.

His eyes scanned the room, stopping at one of the tables, where Nicole, who was still in school training to become a teacher, was sitting with Bryan, who was also still in school getting his MD, and Jenny, who was a miniature Calleigh and will be starting school at the end of the month.

With the success of the club, they took one of the private areas away and added a pinball machine and a few arcade games, so even with Horatio's vantage point, he couldn't see them, but he did smile wider as he thought of his remaining kids.

Anthony will be starting 1st grade when school starts again, and last but certainly not least, Kyle, who was almost done with his schooling so he could start working full time in the ballistics lab, is now living with Lindsey, who became a CSI once her schooling had been completed.

He sighed in content before he felt his wife's arms wrap around his waist from behind, making him smile again. "Hi, sweetheart."

She smiled as she kissed his shoulder. "Hi, handsome, you ok?"

She moved to the side of him so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders and brought her near him before kissing the top of her head and whispering. "Never felt better. It has been an amazing evening."

She nodded before whispering, even though it was just them. "Yes, it has, and it is only going to get better tonight."

His heart started racing in anticipation. "Oh, Really?"

She smiled with passion in her eyes as she slipped her fingers through his. "Oh yeah, we have some celebrating to do just for the two of us."

"We certainly do."

As they go in for a kiss, they hear Nick's voice from a microphone. "Can I have everybody's attention, please." They settle for a peck on the lips before their attention went towards their son as he continued while he looked up at his parents and smiled. "First of all, I would like everybody to toast to Calleigh and Horatio, celebrating their tenth year of marriage together, and while they have been married that long, they are still very much in their honeymoon phase, believe me on that one." He smirked and they all chuckled before raising their glasses and toasting to the happy couple, which Calleigh and Horatio nodded their thanks while they took their sips, then Nick cleared his throat before speaking again. "But all jokes aside, I admired them, even at times envied them."

He took a moment before he continued. "Growing up, there were two sets up of couples that I really looked up to, well, technically four, but I'm only talking about the grown-ups ok?" He looked at his siblings and their significant others when he said that last park, making everybody chuckle again while they smiled with nods before Nick looked up at Horatio and Calleigh again. "Theirs, and my biological parents, Steven and Valarie (His eyes started misting up, even Nicole and Calleigh got a little sad with him mentioning their names) While I don't remember much about them, I've seen every photo they had while they were a couple and I can see the love between them, it was a deep, honest, true, pure love, one I've been searching for myself."

He then turned to Julie, who was holding Hope, and continued his speech with a smile and emotion. "Then something unexpected happened a little over a year ago, this beautiful, amazing, smart woman walked into this club, and one look at her I just knew something was there, thankfully she felt the same, and it's been the best year of my life." He walked up to his girlfriend and smiled at his youngest sister before asking as he held out the microphone. "Sweetie, can you hold this for me?"

Her eyes become bright with a nod. "Ok."

After she took a hold of the microphone, she giggled and it echoed through the club, making everybody chuckle, which she did it again until finally Nick continued his speech as he placed one of his hands in his pocket. "But, I don't want just one year with you, I want forever, so Julie Taylor..." He started to bend down, opening the ring box he had in his hand, making everybody gasp as he finished. "Will you marry me?"

There was no hesitation in Julie's response as tears came down her cheeks. "Of course, I'll marry you."

He smiled as he slid the ring on her finger before standing up, and after a kiss, which everybody cheered, he took the microphone from his sister and continued as he looked up at his parents with a shy look. "Sorry guys, I didn't mean to steal your thunder on this day."

They chuckled, and while sniffling, Calleigh spoke with a smile. "It's ok, least the thunder was on the good side."

Nick smiled, and after a look with Julie, which she nodded with a smile as she continued to wipe more tears off her cheek, he looked at his parents again before continuing. "I'm glad you feel that way because I'm about to steal a little more." He started to feel a little more emotion as he finished. "Because not only did this amazing woman just agree to become my wife, but she's also pregnant with my first child."

Everybody gasped louder this time before Nicole stood up from her seat in shock. "Shut up, no flipping way!"

Nick's attention turned to his sister with a smile and tears in his eyes. "Yes way, congratulations on becoming an aunt, sis."

With a smile and tears in her eyes, she ran to her brother and they shared an emotional hug, while everybody clapped and cheered once again as Horatio and Calleigh made their way down to the main area.

Even though everybody wanted to congratulate them individually, they wanted to do that after Calleigh and Horatio did first, and by the time they got to the dance floor, Nicole was pulling back from Julie before taking Hope from her.

Calleigh cupped Nick's cheek with tears in her eyes as she replied. "Steven and Valerie would be..."

She trailed off with so much emotion, and Nick nodded with tears in her eyes. "I know, mom."

She wiped his tears away before bringing wrapping her arms around him as he wrapped his arms around her while she whispered. "I'm so proud of you, congratulations on both the engagement and the baby."

"Thank you. I love you, mom."

They pull back and share a smile before she cupped his cheek again. "And I love you, sweetheart."

After they share a kiss on their cheeks, Calleigh went to congratulate Julie while Horatio cupped his son's cheek with his eyes shinning bright with pride and happiness. "Congratulations, son."

Nick sniffled with a nod and smile. "Thank you dad."

Horatio brings him in a hug and they whispered their love for one another, and once they pulled back, he goes to Julie, while Kyle, who now had Jenny in his lap, Bryan and Lindsey walked up them to give them their congratulations, and once Lindsey and Nick pulled back from one another, she cupped his cheek and replied with tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy for you, you deserve this."

"Thank you, Lindsey, that really means a lot to me."

She nodded and they shared one more hug before everybody else got their hugs in.

When everybody had hugged Nick, and their congratulations where directed towards Julie, Nick walks over to one of the tables, where Anthony was seated, coloring in his color book that they had brought. He kneeled down once he got there, and asked. "What's wrong little man, aren't you happy for me?"

Anthony just shrugged, making Nick a little concerned, so he placed his hands over her brother's so he would stop coloring and asked again. "Come on talk to me, you know you can tell me anything, no matter what it is."

When they have eye contact, Nick saw a lot of sadness in his blue eyes as he replied softly. "You're going to have your own baby, and I know they require a lot of attention."

While he didn't resent his younger sisters, he just sometimes missed the days where he could spend time with his parents, even his older siblings, without getting interrupted by one of them because they needed attention for something.

Getting it, Nick smiled as he cupped his cheek. "Yes they do, but you know what this baby won't take away?" He shook his head before Nick continued. "My love for you and wanting to spend time with you. It can't always happen, but you are still welcome to have sleepovers and we'll continue to have our brother hang out times."

Anthony sniffled as he asked with a hopeful tone. "You promise?"

After screwing up one of his promises, he never screwed up another one since, and he wasn't about to start, so he nodded with a smile. "You got it."

Anthony smiled as he wrapped his arms around his brother for a hug. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

As they were pulling back, Nick replied. "We can talk to Kyle and Lindsey first, then if they agree, yes you can."

With it being the tenth wedding anniversary for Horatio and Calleigh, and knowing they wanted to be alone without the kids, the older ones agreed to each take a younger one for the evening, which really this act wasn't that new, especially lately when their lives was taken them away from their childhood home more than they liked, because they loved their younger siblings and wanted to hang out with them as much as they could, so sometimes it would be a one on one outing, or all six would go somewhere, just as long as they were together.

Anthony nodded with anther smile. "Ok."

Nick nodded with a smile. "You're welcome."

* * *

Once all the congratulations were done and they did more speeches and the cake was eaten, Horatio and Calleigh thought it was time for them to leave, so after saying goodbye to their friends, and one by one they said goodnight/goodbye to their kids, they headed home.

After they made it and got out of the vehicle, Calleigh walked to his side of the vehicle and they slipped their fingers through one another and started walking towards the front door, which as they got there, Calleigh spoke with a smile. "It almost seems unreal, huh?"

He placed the keys in the doorknob. "What?"

She took her hand and turned them so they were standing face to face before she cupped his cheek as she whispered. "That in nine months, we'll officially be grandparents."

He chuckled with a nod. "Yes, that is very unreal." He looked at her up and down while whispering. "You certainly are not old enough to be a grandmother."

As he was turning back towards the door, Calleigh spoke with concern. "You know we can tell them to not call you 'Grandpa' if you want."

Since he did bring age in the conversation, she wanted to make sure that being called 'Grandpa' didn't make him feel older than she knows he already feels.

There was a slight pause, him thinking of all his favorite names he gets to hear on a daily basis, especially his three favorite coming from the members of his family. 'Husband' 'Handsome' 'Dad', he wore them with pride, and he knew some would do the same towards 'Grandpa', while others wished they could be called that, and never get that chance.

He mentally shook his her before turning to his wife again and cupped her cheek. "That title means something to a lot of men out there, and while I never got a chance to really know him, I think I can safely say that Steven would have been honored to have been called that, so not being called that will make me feel I'm letting that title down, letting him down, and I rather be called a 'Grandpa' a million times than have that feeling."

She smirked as she placed her hand on top of his that was till on her cheek. "Ok, Grandpa."

He chuckled as he leaned down to kiss her, but before he did, he whispered. "You got it, Grandma."

Their lips touched for a soft kiss, and as they pulled back, she asked. "But in the future, let's only call ourselves that when we have the grandchildren with us."

He chuckled again with a nod in understanding, then he raised an eyebrow at another part of what she said. "'Grandchildren', you expecting more than one?"

She nodded with a smile. "Eventually yeah, and don't lie and say you never thought of wanting a lot of them."

He smiled with his blue eyes sparkling, making her heart melt at the sight. "You got me, the thought of having more than one grandchild is a beautiful dream."

They kiss one more time before he turned his attention back to the door, and once they were inside, he dealt with the alarm while she goes and sits down on the stairs with a sigh, and when he was done, he walked up to her and looked before asking in concern. "You ok?"

She nodded with a smile. "Just what you said about Steven got me thinking about something."

His concern went a little deeper, knowing bringing up his and Valarie's names still hurts at times, so he softly whispered. "Sweetheart..."

She cuts him off while waiving her hand, knowing where he was going with that. "It's not that, I promise." She took a breath before finishing. "I just, I know we tell Nick and Nicole that their parents would be proud of them, but do you think that they would have been happy how we raised them?"

They promised each other a long time ago that they would raised them how they saw fit, and not second themselves with what would 'Valarie & Steven' do.

He nodded with a smile as he kneeled down in front of her. "Yes, we may have not been perfect, or done things exactly like they would have, but look how they turned out. Nicole was Valedictorian and is learning to be a teacher, following in her father's footsteps, and while Nick isn't going the exact route his mother did, he's a cop, out there trying to save peoples lives. They are both caring and loving, and would do anything for the people they love, so I don't see how they could complain on who they are, and are becoming."

She nodded with a smile. "Yeah, you're right. Thank you."

He cupped her cheek as he whispered. "No problem."

They stayed in that position for a few moment before they eyes became darker while she whispered. "Now, how about we move on to the celebrating part of the evening."

He leaned towards her. "Don't mind if we do."

After they share a few deep kisses, they pull back and she whispered again. "Get the champagne please, and I'll be upstairs."

"You got it, sweetheart."

They peck each other on the lips before standing up, then as she headed upstairs, he headed for the kitchen, turning on a few lights as he went along.

Once he had everything he needed, he turned out the kitchen light as he walked out, walking through the dinning room, then when he reached the living room light, he turned his head towards the mantel, and with a smile he walked over to it, picked it up and smiled at the faces of Steven and Valarie. "Congratulations, I bet you two would have been amazing grandparents, so like with your kids, we'll try our best to be just that, I promise."

He sets the picture back down before heading back to the light and turning it off before heading upstairs and towards the master bedroom.

When he made it to the doorway of the room, he stood still, just drinking in the sight, his wife in a blue nighty, her favorite color since she's met him, that had thin straps that went down her knees, while she was lighting a few candles on her nightstand.

She turned to him when she felt his presence and smiled. "You like what you see, handsome?"

He cleared his throat as he whispered. "Very much, sweetheart."

She blew out the match and asked softly. "Then what are you waiting for?"

He took a breath as he walked in the room and closed the door with his foot before speaking with honesty. "I'm afraid once I start kissing you, there won't be any toasting for a long time, so maybe we should do that first."

She chuckled as she took his free hand and walked them towards the dresser. "Good point."

He sets the glasses down on top of the dresser and poured the champagne in the glasses and handed one to her before he took the other one and spoke with emotion. "To Calleigh Caine, my beautiful, amazing, smart, strong, talented wife of 10 years. There is no one else I would have rather spent these last 10 years with, you are my everything, and I love you with all of my heart."

With tears in her eyes, she replied. "To Horatio Caine, my handsome, amazing, strong, loving, husband, of 10 years. While it had its bumps a few times, it has been the best 10 years of my life, and I can't wait for the next 10, you are also my everything, and I love you more than words can say."

They clinked their glasses while whispering happy anniversary, then as they took their sips, their eyes remained one another, both already getting dark with passion.

When they were done, they placed their glasses down on the dresser, and she took his hand before walking them towards the bed, and once they were, they stopped and as she slowly began undressing him, she whispered. "Through the ten years of our marriage, we've shared a lot moments, some better than others, and while nothing could top our family time moments, these alone time moments are some of my favorites, especially when I get to do this." She slid his shirt off and moved closer to his chest and kissed his scars while Horatio stood there with his eyes closed, trying to gain control while feeling his wife's lips on him as she moved to his shoulder, then his back as she whispered against his skin while running her hand along his front. "And this."

Once her lips touched his neck while her hand was above the waistband of his boxers, he couldn't stand it anymore, he turned around suddenly, and right before they kissed passionate, she smiled. "Add that look right before you ki..."

With their lips still connected, she jumped in his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed, where he gently laid her down before their fingers roamed each other's bodies.

Moments later, he pulls back and they look into each other's eyes, breathlessly, and she cupped his cheek while whispering one more thing. "And looking into your eyes and telling you that I love you, which even after 10 years that word means the world to me."

He smiled with tears in his eyes. "Me too, sweetheart. I love you with everything that I have, and I couldn't have asked for a better life with you, a better family. Thank you for sharing this with me."

"And thank you, handsome."

After one more pause, he leaned back down and they started kissing again, getting lost in their world with each passionate second, and while they couldn't wait to see what the next ten years will bring them, they also wouldn't mind taking their time getting there, especially when they get to enjoy moments like these.

* * *

AN: Well there you have it, I hope overall you enjoyed the series. Thanks for the overall support, it means a lot to me. I hope to see you all next time. Until that day comes, I hope you still enjoy all my older stories and have a good weekend/week.


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